Abel to Yzerman

This is just a taste. I went to bed the minute the deadline passed. It was 2301 CVST (Carl Vinson Standard Time) and I was highly, highly pissed. I believe this was a failure on an epic scale. It was either Okie or JJ who said repeatedly last night, “Opportunity is a fickle bitch.” Exactly. And it’s been my experience that once you start turning down opportunities they seldom come back the next night to see if you’ve changed your mind or come to your senses. They move on to the next potential customer in Nashville or out in Vancouver.

I’m going to try to take a much harder look later in the day (your early morning), but for now I’ll say this: Ken Holland had a chance to improve this team yesterday and didn’t do it. The company men will agree with his inactivity.

I think it was negligence.

Nick Lidstrom is going to retire. You have millions to spend. You have a team that is unbeatable at home (with Datsyuk, anyway). You have…opportunity. So you sit on your hands because the prices are too high? Is that it? We’re going to let our allegiance to the potential of a player like Nyquist stop us from acquiring a piece that could bring us a Stanley Cup? Are you fuching kidding me, Kenny?

Gaustad? Want to trivialize that pickup? Go ahead. I’ll remind you that you scoffed when we face Nashville in the playoffs. When Zetterberg loses a faceoff to him in our zone with 15 seconds to play and Weber’s got it tee’d up for the game winner, go ahead and tell me what that guy would have been worth in February Kenny.

Move of the day is a reach around for Mike Commodore. And the Diggers fell all over themselves talking about it. For two hours the Wings ignored their playoff lineup and the Diggers tip-tapped away at how generous Kenny Holland is, how compassionate he must be to let the guy go down to Stevie Y in TB. Not a questioning word from one of them as to why the Detroit By God Red Wings did nothing to improve themselves on a deadline day that was worse than Cory Cross because we had a helluva lot more money throw around.

I don’t want to hear the excuses, either. If you’re the “best GM in the business”, you get by the obstacles and make something happen. Mediocre GMs do nothing. Excellence surprises people and makes us shake our heads in wonder. Not since Hossa have you done that.

Tick Tock? You blew it. You’ve done some great things for us in the past but yesterday? You absolutely blew it.

Comments

Yeah, you’re right. We should look at bare stats rather than actually watching the games.

New user name, PSH?

Posted by Garth on 02/28/12 at 10:14 AM ET

No, you’re right. We should look at the opinion of the biggest Eeyore this side of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and just trust that the Red Wings are actually giving up more quality scoring chances than their opponents because Debbie Downer says so.

Lets not forget we have Doug Janik in Grand Rapids who has some NHL experience and isn’t awful. We still have some D depth.

Posted by
Moocat
on 02/28/12 at 01:29 PM ET

But I don’t give a damn about any of the bottom 6 guys that were tossed around. The highest skill guy dealt yesterday was Kostitsyn. BFD

Excellent point. I’m not usually too hard on the 19 here but the whining and crying really is pretty gross yesterday and today. Calling Kenny a failure (thanks for the 4 Cups, btw) is hyperbole, harsh and in my mind, pathetic.

I know you kids expect a lot but there just wasn’t a lot to add out there…and Pahlsson? You’re going to bitter about Pahlsson and Gaustad? Fuch right off…and of course Nick will be back and we’ll reload in the offseason.

Normally I’d say stop worrying so much, but the worrying has turned into bitter bitching. It’s very un-Red Wings-fan-like, if that’s a term I can use.

Personally, I wanted Zetterberg (old and fallen out), Lidstrom (old and one-balled) and Helm (can’t bury ‘em) to CBJ for Nash and what remains of one of Ken Hitchcock’s chins, but I’m just going be a good soldier and say I’m happy with what happened because, oh yeah, we’re still the Detroit Fuching Red Wings, and we win.

Posted by
Sullyosis
from A hateful lair in Post Apocalyptic US (or Arizona) on 02/28/12 at 01:34 PM ET

I said it in the other thread, I’ll say it here too:

I’ll trust the guy whose name is on the cup four times over the lot of you chicken-little, armchair GMs. Tick Tock wanted to make a move. There was no smart move to be had. A first for a 3rd or 4th liner who would’ve broken what our third and forth do so well (ie, speed and tenacity) and really only brought size and faceoffs to the table (admittedly two very nice things to have)... Holland stood pat and I’ll take his word for it. Always.

I get it. They don’t give up a lot of shots, therefore everything is fine. Why bother watching the way the Red Wings lose to teams they should beat easily, can’t hold leads and can’t score on the PP? Or the fact that even though they don’t give up a lot of shots they’re constantly being bailed out by their goaltending. Or the back-to-back early exits from the playoffs against a team that supposedly isn’t as good as them.

Not a lot of shots against. That’s the important thing.

we’ll reload in the offseason.

Last season they didn’t have the cap space to add anyone, but don’t worry they’ll do something in free agency.

Last summer they had to try to replace Rafalski but couldn’t find anything they liked to upgrade the team but don’t worry, there’s a lot of cap space that they can use at the deadlin.

Last night there was nothing they liked enough but don’t worry, Parise and Suter are as good as signed, right?

So what’s the excuse if he doesn’t sign Parise or Suter? What if they sign Paul Gaustad and Hal Gill instead?

we’re still the Detroit Fuching Red Wings, and we win.

I guess nobody should complain because of the 2009, 2010 and 2011 Stanley Cup rings that are adorning Justin Abdelkader’s fingers.

Fuch right off…

Yeah, all the *#$%@& losers who wanted this team to be better can go to hell! I’m personally pissing myself with glee over the past two early exits in the playoffs.

I get it. They don’t give up a lot of shots, therefore everything is fine. Why bother watching the way the Red Wings lose to teams they should beat easily, can’t hold leads and can’t score on the PP? Or the fact that even though they don’t give up a lot of shots they’re constantly being bailed out by their goaltending. Or the back-to-back early exits from the playoffs against a team that supposedly isn’t as good as them.

How many leads have they lost this year? Is that number significantly more than league average?

Significant enough to say that they CAN’T HOLD LEADS?

The Sharks are not the same team as last year. I don’t think they’re better. I don’t think Winnik and Galiardi made them better. Those were two of the worst forwards on the ice in the Colorado game. Are they suddenly not going to be bad because they’re wearing teal?

So this mediocre team that’s one win out of a tie for best in the League (and was top of the league for a bit) is going to fail because they didn’t panic and try to add something they probably couldn’t have reasonably gotten anyway?

What, do you guys think that when the Red Wings come calling, other GMs just drop their pants, bend over, and say “No, it’s fine, take it however you want?” Were you all privy to the phone conversations Ken Holland had with everyone else? How can you be so goddamned certain that Holland just sat on his hands yesterday?

The big time to worry will be this off-season. IF Lidstrom retires, the Wings might be in trouble, but that’s not a given… besides, how was Holland supposed to address that yesterday? Suter and Weber weren’t available (which is who everyone is pining after), so what was there to do? Everyone wants a top-six forward, and by all accounts there were none available (aside from Nash), so what was there to do?

Oh, the Wings have power-play issues? With essentially the same personnel, the Wings were 5th in the League last year, so what’s the difference? Try looking at the *#$%@& coaching staff, why don’t you?

Posted by
RedMenace
from the Church of Jesus Lashoff on 02/28/12 at 02:30 PM ET

I still believe we’re the best team in the NHL, and we were not desperate to improve. Prices too high, so we cautiously stayed away, I dig that. No need to mess with chemistry that’s already clicking.

In re skrillex, he makes music called dubstep. It sounds like two robots destroying eachother. Here is a gif him dancing to his own music. It usually looks like he’s running from a bee.

You’re dealing in a LOT of “ifs,” man. If you want to freak the *#$%@& out and piss yourself because you can’t handle the Wings winning the Stanley Cup every year, feel free.

Goddamn, some of you people have WAY too much of a sense of entitlement. It’s one thing to do it tongue-in-cheek, but Christ on a stick, get a *#$%@& grip.

Posted by
RedMenace
from the Church of Jesus Lashoff on 02/28/12 at 02:32 PM ET

When all you see are Red Wings games, it’s easy to assume that the Wings do it more often than any other team.

I remember when you compleinad about Gramps talking about other teams all the time.

Is it enough that the Red Wings allow more good scoring chances and breakaway than any other Wins teams from recent seasons?

Posted by
Herm
from the office on 02/28/12 at 02:40 PM ET

I’ll trust the guy whose name is on the cup four times over the lot of you chicken-little, armchair GMs.

Tick Tock works in mysterious ways. I find pendulum swings between complete and blind faith and abject fury at Tick Tock amusing. The thing most people are forgetting is that Tick Tock is a fuching genius and the rest of us do something other than run a hockey team for a living. I don’t run into an operating room and tell a surgeon how to do a bypass operation, and I’m not going to tell someone who’s been the mastermind behind twenty years excellence he’s off his nut because he’s done something I don’t understand.

You can disagree with me, that’s your opinion and you’re entitled to it; even if you are wrong.

Jeebus on a pogo stick…Olde Tick Tock refuses to listen to the sage advice here and it’s “Off with his head!!”

I’m with Sully and a couple others on this one.

I’m not usually too hard on the 19 here but the whining and crying really is pretty gross yesterday and today. Calling Kenny a failure (thanks for the 4 Cups, btw) is hyperbole, harsh and in my mind, pathetic.

My take away from all this…..CVST. The Master Chief has his own fricking time zone. A time zone.

LGRW !!!!! (5)

Posted by
Rumbear
from Top O the Hasek, fanning the flames, with rum..... on 02/28/12 at 03:00 PM ET

I remember when you compleinad about Gramps talking about other teams all the time.

Is it enough that the Red Wings allow more good scoring chances and breakaway than any other Wins teams from recent seasons?

By the way, there is exactly ONE team in the league which is both better at earning leads and better about not losing them. It’s the New York Rangers. In tie games, they have scored one more goal than Detroit to gain the lead and have allowed two fewer goals while holding a one-goal lead (in games where there was another goal scored).

Vancouver has lost one less lead (32 to 33) than Detroit, but has earned a one-goal lead in a tie game two fewer times.

All of the forwards that went yesterday suck dicks. If we couldn’t get a top 10 sniper then *#$%@& it, we are better off. A super star sniper is all I really wanted and if it wasn’t there it wasn’t there. I really wanted to see us grab either Carter, Nash, or Selanne. It really does not look like any of them were available accept for Carter. I think Quincey was a good add. *#$%@& Commie, that guy is worth a bag of sweaty ball sacks. Nashville…...meh. If that is what is supposed to keep Suter/Webber in Nashville those guys are letting the local collective brain power get to them. I wish it was Smith who got the call up instead of Janek tonight but oh well. LGRW! In-Kenny-I-Trust.

About Abel to Yzerman

Welcome to Abel to Yzerman, a Red Wing blog since 1977. No other site on the internet has better-researched, fact-laden and better prepared discussions than A2Y. Re-phrase: we do little research, find facts and stats highly overrated and claim little to no preparation. There are 19 readers of A2Y. No more, no less. All of them, except maybe one, are juvenile in nature. Reminding them of that in the comment section will only encourage them to prove that. Your suggestions and critiques are welcome: wphoulihan@gmail.com